Placeholder reference

A placeholder is a code in double braces that HandyPaste fills in at the moment you paste. In the library's editor they show as chips; insert them from Insert Placeholder, by typing {{, or by typing the code itself.

Try any of them here. The playground follows the same rules as the app:

Try it: edit the snippetHi {{input:Name}}, {{choose:Answer=Thanks for your message. I’ll get back to you today.|Thanks, that works for me.|Sorry, I can’t make it this time.}} {{snippet:Signature}}

The picker asks before pasting:

NameAnswerThanks for your message. I’ll get back to you today.Thanks, that works for me.Sorry, I can’t make it this time.

What gets pasted

Hi Jordan, Thanks for your message. I’ll get back to you today. Best regards, Alex Morgan Northwind Studio

Saved variables

{{var:Name}} = Alex Morgan{{var:Email}} = [email protected]{{var:Company}} = Northwind Studio

Snippet “Signature”

Best regards, {{var:Name}} {{var:Company}}

Pro Uses choice lists, snippets inside snippets, variables.

At a glance

Placeholder	Pastes	More
{{date}}	Today's date in your Mac's format	Dates
{{date:yyyy-MM-dd}}	The date in a format you spell out	Dates
{{date:full}}	A named style: short, medium, long, full	Dates
{{date+1d}}	A shifted date: h, d, w, m, y	Dates
{{time}} / {{time:HH:mm}}	The current time	Dates
{{cursor}}	Nothing; the caret ends up here	below
{{clipboard}}	The text on the clipboard	below
{{input:Name}}	Asks for a value	Forms
{{input:Name=Default}} Pro	Asks, with an answer filled in	Forms
{{input:Notes…}} Pro	Asks for several lines	Forms
{{choose:Tone=Formal|Casual}} Pro	Asks you to pick from a list	Forms
{{tab}} / {{enter}} Pro	Presses Tab / Return while pasting	Forms
{{var:Name}} Pro	A value saved in Settings ▸ Variables	Variables
{{snippet:Title}} Pro	Another snippet's text	Variables

Placeholder names ignore case and spaces: {{ Date }} works like {{date}}.

cursor

{{cursor}} marks where your caret should be after pasting, so you can keep typing in the right spot. If a snippet has more than one, the first one counts.

Snippet

Hi {{cursor}},

Thanks for getting in touch.

Pastes (caret at |)

Hi |,

Thanks for getting in touch.

HandyPaste moves the caret with arrow keys after pasting, so this needs Accessibility permission. In a snippet that presses Tab or Return, only a {{cursor}} after the last key press counts: the arrow keys can't walk back into an earlier field.

clipboard

{{clipboard}} pastes whatever text you copied last. It's handy for wrapping something you just copied:

Snippet

Proofread the text below. Fix grammar and
spelling, keep my tone, and list what you
changed.

{{clipboard}}

Pastes, after copying a paragraph

Proofread the text below. Fix grammar and
spelling, keep my tone, and list what you
changed.

Their sending the files tomorow, and we will
reveiw them on friday.

More: a Markdown link from a copied URL, [{{input:Link text}}]({{clipboard}}), or a quote reply, > {{clipboard}}.

Questions

{{input:…}} and {{choose:…}} make the picker ask before pasting. Each label is asked once, however often it appears. See Questions and forms.

Snippet

Hi {{input:Name}},

Your order {{input:Order number}} has shipped.
Thanks, {{input:Name}}!

Pastes, after answering

Hi Jordan,

Your order #48213 has shipped.
Thanks, Jordan!

Keeping braces as braces

Anything in double braces that isn't one of the placeholders above is left exactly as typed. Jinja, Handlebars, Mustache, Liquid and Go templates are safe:

Hello {{ user.first_name }}, {{#if premium}}thanks for being a member{{/if}}.

pastes exactly like that.

To paste a HandyPaste placeholder literally, put a backslash in front of it. The backslash disappears when pasting:

You write	It pastes
\{{date}}	{{date}}
\\{{date}}	\ and today's date

In the editor you rarely need this: text you paste into it from other apps is always kept as text, and a placeholder you type turns into text if you press ⌘Z right after it becomes a chip.

Free and Pro

Dates, times, {{cursor}}, {{clipboard}} and simple {{input:Label}} questions are free. The placeholders marked Pro are part of HandyPaste Pro. Without Pro you can still insert them, and the preview shows what they would do. When you paste, HandyPaste tells you what's missing and offers Paste Without Filling, which pastes them as typed.